The Prince's Resolution
by Seishirou Shu
Summary: A complement story for "An Arranged Marriage", looking from Frey's point of view. NOTE: Please read "An Arranged Marriage" first before reading this one because some plot elements will only make sense when you've read it.


**Author's note:** this is a complement story to the previous "An Arranged Marriage", from Frey's perspective. What would the former Prince do when he was faced with a prospect of marriage? Well, I guess we will have to see for ourselves. As always, I do not own Suikoden or any of its characters.

* * *

"… Well then Your Highness, I'll take my leave now. It seems you will need some privacy."

Frey blinked as this unexpected turn of event took the best of him. In a desperate attempt to prevent Lyon from leaving, he stuttered.

"Huh? What… wait! I…"

But it was futile. The lady knight had already closed the door behind her and leaving him alone in the Commander's Room. A mistake… and a rather costly one at that. Realizing this, he could only vent out his frustration on the table.

"Damn it! I… urgh!" he groaned, slamming his hand. But well, there was no use crying over split milk. He quickly got up from his seat and got out of his office as well.

* * *

"Excuse me, did you see Lyon?"

The former prince caught a passing guard and pressed him for answer.

"Uh… yes, Your Majesty. I believe I saw Lady Lyon passing through with Lady Miakis just about now."

"And? Where did they go?"

"Er, I think Lady Miakis mentioned something about the Queen calling Lady Lyon…"

"I see. Thank you."

The Commander of the Queen's Knight rushed past the guard without looking back, leaving him confounded.

"Why, what on earth…? For some reason, the high-profiles seem all riled up today…"

* * *

""I… I do appreciate… Your Majesty… but … deal with my… private affairs myself"

"*Giggle* Ooh now it's getting interesting!"

The purple haired female knight kept snickering, ears glued to the wall, unaware that a certain someone had been watching her for quite a while until he said,

"Miakis."

Shocked, Miakis hurriedly turned around to find… Freyjadour Falenas standing before her. And to make things worse, his expression conveyed that he was about ready to strangle someone.

"Oh! Um, hello, Your Majesty!" she said in a sad attempt to look innocent. The Commander clearly did not seem amused.

"What's this all about, Miakis?"

Miakis hung her head, looking defeated. "Well, you see… The Queen has summoned Lyon here to discuss about something."

"_Something?"_

"Well, I suppose you could… listen for yourself?" she suggested, surrendering her eavesdropping spot. The Commander moved closer in to catch a noise of what they were discussing.

"… could Your Excellency… potential candidate for… matchmaking is, before I… reasoning?"

Frey withdrew his ear and decided to not listen anymore. In return, a hint of disgust appeared on his face.

"I think that's enough. Be sure to tell Lym I want to have a word with her later."

"Y-yes, Your Majesty!"

He then left without a word. Well, Miakis was sure she learned a new lesson today: never cross the Commander about Lyon, or else…

* * *

"Brother!"

The Queen welcomed her elder brother with delight and moved to hug him as usual, but something on his face told her not to.

"Thank you for your time, Your Majesty. Please, take a seat", Commander Freyjadour said in a flat tone. The little Queen did as her brother told her and waited anxiously. Upon closer inspection of her brother's face, her anxiety turned into fear. It wasn't because her brother is looking furious or something like that. In fact, never had he shown an outburst of anger for the entirety of life she had known him. But his plain expression which he currently had was much more intimidating than anything else. Usually, he looked so cheerful with the warm smile of his. But now, his lips were flat, and his eyes looked merciless. Only once had she seen him like this: when he faced off against Gizel Godwin as the latter threatened to kill her before her brother's eyes. And it was enough to scare her even when he wasn't directing it towards her at that time.

Frey took a seat in front of Lym himself and looked at her directly in the eyes.

"Your Majesty, I'm dropping the formalities now, if you don't mind."

Queen Lymsleia simply nodded. She almost felt like crying seeing her brother like this, and had she opened her mouth, she really would.

"Lym, I'm sure you have a good explanation for this," he took a marriage proposal from his cloak and put it on the table.

"Oh, Brother…"

She looked at him with plea for help, but he simply kept an impassive face.

"Brother, I – I simply meant to help you. You know about Royalty Marriage in our tradition, right? Since it's about time and people are anxious to see you married… Well, you are the war hero now. Who wouldn't want you as a husband?"

"I see. Then what about Lyon? Did you force her to go through this as well?"

There was the subtlest raise of tone in his voice.

"Brother, I…." The little queen couldn't endure it anymore. The pressure from her brother, the one whom she loves so much was simply unbearable. She broke down in tears as she explained everything, "I wanted to help you! *hic* We all already knew that you and Lyon like each other, so I arranged this engagement in secret for you! *hic* So that those *hic* sneaky nobles couldn't get a move on you…!"

Her last line was cut off as Frey suddenly did something unexpected: he moved forward and hugged her tightly, caressing her hair to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, Lym… I'm sorry for pushing you like this… I know I must've hurt you, yet my emotion got the best of me… I'm truly sorry."

"Brother… *hic* Whaaaah!"

Queen Lymsleia sobbed on her big brother's shoulder, both glad because the air had finally been cleared… After a minute or so, they continued to hug until Lym let go of her brother. She was truly relieved that the warm smile had returned to her brother's face.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you, Lym. I think I'll take my leave now."

"Oh,but…"

Lymsleia hung her head in disappointment; her brother knew that there must be something else she had wished to talk about. He didn't get up from his seat just yet and simply waited. When it became clear that his little sister is struggling with words, however, he hugged her again, but gently this time. It was one hug to comfort.

"It's okay, Lym… I'm here."

The little queen sniffed again, but this time she didn't cry just yet.

"Brother… I like you. I know it's wrong, and I feel guilty for Lyon, too, but I… I couldn't help it! I like you so much…!"

"Ssh… It's okay, it's okay… In fact, thank you for loving me."

Frey let go of his sister and looked at her. She seemed confused about what he just said to her.

"Lym, you love father and mother, right?"

"Why, yes, of course! Why do you need to…?"

"Perhaps, because they are gone now… part of your affection for them was left for me. Think about it… do you feel the same warmth for me with the one you felt when you are thinking about them?"

Lym fell silent, apparently deep in thought. And after a while, she nodded nervously.

"I see. That's right, it may be not the time for you yet, but… I'm sure that you will one day find someone very special to you. Just like… how I have Lyon."

The little queen smiled and nodded, apparently had her mood enlightened a little.

"Now, I think it's about time I leave. I still have… another matter to attend to."

Frey's face became serious about the last part, but Lym knew that her brother must be able to handle it well. Before he reached the door, though, he turned around and,

"By the way, Lym, I heard you and Toma were having a good conversation in the banquet last week. So, how did it go?"

The queen's cheek became all red and it was clear that she was flustered.

"Wh – wha… Brother! What are you suggesting?"

The Commander of the Queen's Knights simply chuckled.

"I must say, he's a good lad. Well, if you'll excuse me."

"Wha – wait! Brother! How dare you! Come back here!"

* * *

Later, close at midnight, Frey was standing on the palace garden near a small fountain. He had arranged a meeting with someone important to take care of one last loose end. And at last, the person he had been waiting for had come: Luserina Barows.

"Good evening, Lady Luserina. I beg your pardon for calling you this late at night," he greeted her.

"It's okay, Your Majesty. I believe you have something important to discuss?"

"Yes, of course. How to put it… Ah, I guess I'm just not good at beating around the bush," he sighed. "It's about the engagement proposal, Lady Luserina. I've seen your name among the many hopefuls that I've received."

He waited for a moment, but Luserina did not say anything, so he continued.

"I… ," he staggered, his voice laden with guilt. "It pains me to say this, but…"

To his surprise, the young lady before him smiled and held up her hand.

"Luserina…?"

"Say no more, Your Majesty. I already knew what you are going to say. You love Lady Lyon, am I not right?"

The night wind felt chilly, and for a moment, they did not do anything but simply stare at each other. Frey was a little dumbstruck, but he was glad it was the Luserina he knew. Yes, she was ever perceptive… and understanding. Very much different from her father and brother. If only the circumstances were different…

"… Yes," the former prince said, finally breaking the silence. "However, I do not want you to take this the wrong way, Luserina - but I admire you. I admire you as a woman. You are strong, beautiful, and gentle… If you let me be honest with you… I quite like you."

He paused for a while, but Luserina did not say anything and stayed as a good listener should.

"I like you, but… My feelings with Lyon are in a world transcending words like that. Even I myself can't describe it well…"

"I understand," she said. "I understand, Frey. I have known it for quite some time, you know… It's just that I wanted you to know… my feelings."

They both looked at each others' eyes, and many unspoken words were exchanged through their stares.

"Thank you. For letting me know," said the former prince, finally.

The young lady nodded. "Would that be all, Your Majesty?"

"Yes. That would be all, Lady Luserina."

The lady then bowed and turned around to leave. But after a few steps, she stopped and spoke without turning towards the gentleman.

"Commander Freyjadour."

"Yes, My Lady?"

"My gratitude for taking care of my feelings. I thank you from the bottom of my heart", she said, still not facing him.

"And my deepest thanks to you for respecting mine, My Lady. I truly hope you could find someone better than I am."

Luserina finally turned to face Frey, and tears were rolling down her cheek as she said this:

"It is going to be a difficult task, I suppose."

* * *

The day had finally come. Frey had got himself ready, dressed in a white engagement suit and a matching white scarf tucked in between his shirt. He felt a little nervous when he walked past the ladies to pick Lyon up from her dressing room; some had their eyes glued on him (as if they want to eat him), others were giggling and eyeing him with hopeful stares (he even met Miakis along the way, who went "ooh ooh" over his appearance).

When he finally arrived in front of the wooden door, however, he couldn't help but feel a little bit uneasy. Lyon had avoided him for these few days. Could it be that… she's scared? Or did someone tell her the truth about this engagement? Nevertheless, he decided to wait in faith for his would-be fiancé… Once the door was swung over, he was taken over by bedazzlement. Lyon looked like nothing he had ever seen. She was pretty, like always, but this time… she was gorgeous. Simply stunning with her long white gown and even though she did not wear much make-ups, her flushing red cheeks and her beautiful braided black hair made her look beautiful all the more.

They hugged at once (apparently, Lyon could not hide her surprise and delight when she saw him).

"How…?"

"Let's just say it's the 'Will of The Sun'."

They held each other in an even firmer embrace; their lips met.

"I love you, Lyon."

"I love you too, Prince. You are the only one for me."

* * *

_Sometime after the engagement celebration…_

The couple sat on the garden, alone and enjoying the company of each other. The party had left them quite exhausted and the fresh air of the garden was truly refreshing for a change. But the former prince had something in mind that bothers him for quite some time. It was now that he decided to act. Making a pouting face and a disturbed voice, he told his fiancé,

"Lyon."

"Hmm?"

"Could you stop calling me 'Prince'? I'm no longer a Prince, as you know."

The dark haired girl hung her head in silence. But not long after, she looked back with a defiant expression.

"No. I won't."

"Look, Lyon…"

"I won't! Prince, you are MY Prince, and don't tell me to call you 'Commander' or even 'Frey' when we are alone because I will not! End of discussion!" she said with a tone of awful finality.

Frey sighed, but smiled shortly afterwards.

"Heh. Looks like aunt Sialeeds were right. You're such a little tyrant sometimes."

* * *

**End note:** At first I decided not to do anymore stories after "An Arranged Marriage" because I think it would disrupt the high note of the ending, but well.I guess it couldn't hurt to delve deeper into the Prince's feeling as well.

As always, don't forget to review, guys!


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